Apparatus for automatic water softeners and chemical feeds therefor



E. S. HENRY June 9, 1931.

APPARATUS FOR AUTOMATIC WATER SOETENERS AND CHEMICAL FEEDS THEREFOR Filed Aug. 20, 1928 A TTORNEY Patented June 9, 1931 EARL" s2 Hun-1w, on Maureen, o nAHoi/m;

Aerial-mans: non; Annemarie wanna. sonar Application neaau usmo,

10; to maintain at all. times aicorrectlproportion between the .amount of chemicals fed, and? the. amount, of ltheravv' water-entering the paratusqloy using thehydrauhc pressure theraw feed'jvvater acting. through fa water 15': motor; to. automatically measure a definite. amount of chemicals. for the amount of" water; carried f by. each propulsion. stroke of the Water motor; to. utilize thesaid hydraw lic pressure to oscillate properly shaped agij 2Q tators and maintain a. chemical. mixtureof. uniform strel'lgth of suchchemicals. asare only slightlysdlirble; in. wat r; to. provide an, automatic float control to. close the. Water inlet valve. when ,the :surfwelevel'. of the .25 softened. Water. irr the. sedimentation tank. is 1 near to overflowing... andto'open said valve when... the level?- of. said Water in; said. tank? drops .acertain distance ;..to provide. a sweep means in the h'ottomoflthe. sedimentation. tank to. facilitatethe reinovalf of the. sedi-v mentv or: sludge therefrom;. .to providexa filter :on the. softenediwater. outletlpipe from. said: tank; to: provide; a device, whichfrequires; a=..minimum of attention, which an. ordinan purchaser can. easily. erect himself and which can. be handled 'by artotal-ly inex 3 perie'nced operator; at deviceWh-ich cansbe. madein. differing. sizes seas tohandlea few. hundred gallons-foil i'ivater an hour. or several. million gallons i a'hda y}; adevice which acts with; equally beneficial'fresults inso'f t'en ingcold, .Warnior'hotwatenl l I Water. softeners: as. at. present constructed require nior'e. 'or 'l'ess'. complicated driving mechanism such.- asl el'ectric motors, pulleys, belts; wdrive. chains; switches 'ancl'f reducing gearsand some outside. sourceloi power; All. of.;'- this a eliminated: in my invention ;ino outside poweris needed as. I utilizeQthe eye.

I'Q dnaulic pressure! .of' the. raw feed." Water as nnnas Ann CHEMICAL. m nus; inhumane 192s... Seria1.-No.300,779l r power for, operatingi ny'improvedi'appanattrs. In; other WordsIsave the originalcostfand upkeep of expensive, complicated i'mechanrcal equipment and I openate my; device" with? power'thatjis noW allowedtbfgcito"waste:

With these and-othen"0bjects' in view as;

Will more fully appear my invention con -j sistsQ-ot'the construction, novel features, and" combinationof parts hereinafter more fully. described, pointed out-in the claimjs' heret'o;

appended, and illustrated in the accompany-i ,ing. one-sheet dravving in which," Figure lf-is a sectionalfelevational throughthe plant; Fig.,2is" an elev view of the Water and chemical device 3' is a fragmentaryperspective View 'ofthfef chemical measuring device; andi'agitat'jors;

Fig 4e-is a plan View of; a measuring;

Fig is'a fragrnentary perspective vie'wvo a control? mechanrsm ,l show ng the balanced valve and float. houslng .1n section andFigg:

614s" a fragmentary, sectional View of! the" spool type sleeve valve i and" its mannerisms.

Like characters of {'reference ."designate likepartsinallfthefigures.I, h I Ifd'o not-Wish toh understoodias liinitin'gi' myself to exact details-bf :constructionf,1- Which qnay lce v 'v'aried within reasonablel-i' its Without departing fromithe-ihroad p cipjle of my invention'or sacrificingj 'alny; its advantages; f I I 'It. is desired the specification andqdravvi ingsbe consid red illustrative and not re? strictival f I. I 5

(D'ne embodiment :of myin entionis shoivnf asl 'f ollovvsz The mew-ates from" a 11m 3 I v stand-p1peor=l1ke source 1s conveyed by; p pe-j i r ber3to'avoidwater h'annnerandfcarefor" fluctuating pressure; a, convenient 'faucet -and: hosel and a balanced control \VatQI"1R-l}tf' valve 5.. A; fnlcrumedleveri 6 controls said 10 sa rod- 7l Suppor tgiljj are fo -s urin said hou n to the h cover 12 and bushin '14 As the surface of p,

the"

dimentation-"tanki' 13} said erating in float. housing"9 having.;a

float 18 will suddenly withdraw the upward extension of T lever 17 from notch 23 on arm 22 of weightv21 pivoted at 24, said T lever being supportingly hinged at to housing 9 and operatively connected at 19 to valve stem and valve 16. The sudden opening of valve 16 will drain float housing 9through hole inbushing 15, lower float 8 and through its co-acting connections open valve 5 and start the flow of raw water, in pipel'. Before the water rising in tank 13 reaches bushing 15 float. 18 will. haveclosed valve 16 so that valve 5 is undisturbed until the water'again overflows into housing 9 and repeats the cycle. To aid in sedimentation a coagulant, preferably alum, is added to the water. I provide tank containing lump coagulant, a valve and connection 26 to fitting 2on pipe 1, having a small water jet tube 27 visibly pouring a small stream of water into funnel 28 on the side of tank 7 25. \Vater passes from funnel 28 through opening 29 into the bottom of tank 25 and dissolves the lump coagulant so that a constant raterof flow of saturated coagulant solution is'fed to the waterthrough outlet l pipe 31 when the softener is in operation.

A Valve and connection 26 is inserted." in pipe 1' beyond valve 5 so that when the raw water supply stops, valve 5 automatically cuts off the water in jet-tube 27. The quantity of coagulant. fed is regulated by the stream through valve 26 and tube 27: Sedimentation tank13ma'y be supported by base framework 33 or other means and has a nick opening sludge valve and pipe 34 near t e center of the bottom thereof. Downtake mixing cylinder 35, has its lower end 36 open and communicating with tank13 slightly above the bottom'of the said tank 13. The said cylinder 35 extends through and above cover 12 ofsaid tank 13 and is provided with a removable cover 37. i As apart of my apparatusI am using what I'shall designate as awater motor 38,a standard device origina'lly designed as a steam pump, therebeing nothing new in its functioning as'a steam pump, but in order to operate as a motor utilizing water pressure instead of steam as a motive power, I have enlarged the port openings, substituted bronze piston rings for cast iron rings, forlasting quality, added an oscillatingweight and made other changes and additions as will appearas the description progresses. The said water motor 38 comprises a water cylinder 39 a discharge chamber40, an enlarged intake port 41, and

an enlarged discharge port and pipe 42.

The spool type piston 43, having spool type sleeve valve 44, having bronze piston rings 45 instead of the usual cast iron rings, the said rings 45 prevent rusting and sticking when operating in water. The piston body 46, preferably of brass, is threadedly connected with hollow piston rod 47 and is provided 'with slotted discharge openings 48 emptying into discharge chamber 40, packing nuts 49 on said rod 47 prevent leakage around said rod 47 in passing through said chamber 40. Access to said chamber 40 and nuts 49 is had by means of the removable cover 49a. Raw feed water under hydraulic pressure enters cylinder 39 through intake port 41 from pipe 1 and actuates piston 43. When said piston 43 has reached the limit of its travel to the right as seen in Fig. 6 andstarts back to the left, the water in cylinder 39 which caused this movement of piston 43 to the right must escape and cause as little back pressure as possible in order that said piston 43 may perform useful work. This water, which might be called exhaust water from its analogy to exhaust steam, follows the path indicated by the arrows in Fig. 6 through the piston 43, hollow rod 47 and discharge openings 48 into chamber 40 from whence it passes through pipe 42 and into downtake mixing cylinder 35. As can readily be seen water cylinder 39 constitutes a water meterand accurately measures a definite amount of water at each stroke of the piston 43. Drain cook 50 permits draining said cylinder '39 when this is necessary. Connected to said piston rod 47 at the end opposite said piston 43 in what would ordinarily be the pump cylinder when said device is operating'by steam, I provide a'piston-like cross-head and pin 51 for transmitting power through connecting rod 52 to crank 53. Any water which may leak past packing nut 49 into cross-head chamber 51a is drained out through drain cock and pipe 51?) into downtake mixing cylinder 35. Crank 53 actu ates oscillating weight arm 54 and weight 55 attached thereto. Said crank 53 andweight arm 54; are attached to agitator shaft 56.

Suitably connected tosaid shaft 56 are agi-' tator arms 57 carrying propeller-shaped paddle agitators 58. Lime is used as .the principal chemical in the process of water softening and since lime is only slightly soluble in waterit must be thoroughly agitated to overcome the tendency it has to settle to the bottom of the mixer or to form layers of unequal strength. My propellershaped paddle agitators 58 insures thorough mixing and circulation of thechemical and produces chemicals of uniform strength in all parts of. the mixer; The'agitator shaft 56'is journaled in bearings 59 and hassuitably connected near its forward end chemical cup arms 60 and chemical cups 61 atchemicals which materially assists in the,

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tached by supporting frame 62 and shaft bolt 63 to said arms 60. Counterbalancing and tripping arm 64 integral with stop arm 65 are adjustably secured to bolt 63 which.

also carries cup holder 66." Said cups 61 are adaptedfor measuring and depositing a.

to cover 12 of tank 13 and cantilever angle iron supports 72 forwater motor 38.-

The functioning of the parts just enumerated will now be explained. As the raw water under pressure passes through and is measured in cylinder 39, power therefrom is transmitted through the co-acting members to oscillate weight which is secured to the forward end ofshaft 56 which projects through from the interior of feed tank 69. As the weight 55 reaches the right and left limit of its oscillations, due to its position above the shaft 56, the said weight has a balancing effect on agitator arms 57 and blades 58. The supported frame62 of cup 61 clears the top of'funnel 67 but tripping arm 64 being suspended beneath frame 62 strikes the side of said funnel and the sudden flip to arm 60- throws all of the contents of cup 61 into said funnel 67 While this action is taking place with one cup the other ofsaid cups is beingdipped into and beneath the surface of the chemicals in the feedtank 69 which not only positively fills said cup but assists in stirring the chemicals as well. Stop arm contacts frame 62 in such manner that the cup cannot become inverted. As can best be seen in Figs. 2 and 3, agitator arms 57 are attached to shaft 56 so as to occupy planes forming small angles with respect to each other. The propeller shaped blades 58 oscillatingly sweep the bottom of tank 69 and. at right and left limits of sweep the end paddles alternately emerge from the surfaceof the agitation. Coagulant pipe 81 carryingv a saturated solution from coagulant tank 25,

' raw water pipe 42 carrying a measured amount of raw water, drain pipe 516 carrying a very smallamount of raw water from cross-head chamber 51a andpipe 68 conveying a measured amount of chemicals from feed tank 69 all pourtheir different loads into the upper end of downtake mixing cylinder where the raw water and said chemicals are thoroughly mixed as they pass downward through said cylinder 35. Precipitationofthe objectional dissolved matter in the raw water takes 'place' in downtake 35, the action of the chemicals causing the said matter to separate from the water in the form of sed ment or sludge.

The downwa-rdh motion; and? thecoagulant;

bring the impurities together in relatively' large' particles so 'thatiduring the: slowv up ward trav'elink theme-in sedimentation:-

l3==they will settle to the bottom'of saidtank. Most of this sediment-or sludge-thus formed. falls to'. the bottom: of tank: 13' and. must: be:- periodically removedtherefrom. Thisiisa'a'e e comp'lishedf by meansofthe sludgesweep 7'3- inthe bottomof' said tank s 13, saidsweeps 73 having short sections of'ang-le' irons and:

pieces of belting' 74 attached thereto atqa-n angle so that on rotating said sweep: 73 bylmeansof verticalsh aft 75andgcnank. 7 6" above-cover 12 0f tan-k 13 thethick-sludge" having the consistency of heavy white-wash is swepttoward the center of"said 'tank: 13 whereby means of quick opening sludge yalve and pipe 34. an d the pressure of water 1n said tan k the-sludgefis forced out. f T he shaft 75 is journaled in bearings- Wjatfitsupperand'lowerends The softened water: s drawn'off through outletpipe 78 near the top oftank 182 The: upper terminus-'7 9 ofsaid pipe 78 is open above surface: 32 0f treated water in tank 13. On; said pipe= 7 8 below the level o-f' fioat housing 91 provide a 'sand fil-te'r-8O consisting of a conical shell 81 having a gauze screen 82 "at its largeopen downwardly extending-end. a like screen 83 lntern'ied'i ate screenj82 an'd the point of said conical shell 81; Between said screens v82 and 83 is a filling of suitable lilteriirgsandthrough which the softene'd watermust pass before reaching: thefin-let perforations 8 L intopipe 78: above screen 8-3. filter 8O removes the .lasttraces of sediment and delivers a clean clear, uniformly softened water. sired to use water from tank 13 without sand filtering the same, valve outlet 85 near the bottom of the tank permits this.

From this description it will be seen that I provide softener capable of uniform accuracy of treatment, which is automatic and requires a minimum of attention; which operates from hydraulic pressure of the raw I 4 feed, water and accurately measures said ion This sand A If'for any reason it is dewater and the chemicalsfor softening the a same and which eliminates complicated .mechamsm, motors and power cost ofxthe' same. All the parts are so inter-related that the fluctuation or changes'in speed of operation can in noway affect'the accuracy of;

chemical feed,as the power from a measured 1 amount'of feedwaterv operates the chemical measuring cups'at one and the sametime. My improved water softenercan be builtifl for all capacities from a few hundred gallons per hourup. to any amount desired] It does not require housing within buildings but can be installed and will operate on an outdoor tank. i e Having thus described my invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: v i v 1. A device of the class described, in combination with a sedimentation tank,.a float control in said tank for a Water supply pipe, a Water supply pipe, a coagulant tank and a water motor for measuring a definite amount of water at each stroke and for util'izing the hydraulic pressure of said Water as a motive power, of a device of the class described including measuring means for measuringa definite amount of softening materials proportionate to the amount of water supplied with each stroke including a float means therefor, an over center oscillating Weight means being adapted for regulating and delivering the proportionate amount ofsaid softening materials and said water to said coagulant tank.

2. The combination of a. sedimentation tank, a float control therein for a water supply pipe,a water supply pipe, a coagulating tank for reducing softening materials to a curd-like mass, a Water'rnotor for measuring 0'' a definite feed of Water at each stroke, of

a device of the class described, comprising means of utilizing the hydraulic pressure of said Water as a motive power, means for measuring a definite amount of softening o-material proportionate to the amount of Water used at each stroke, an over center oscillating Weight means being adapted for regulating and delivering the proportionate amount of softening,inaterial to the amount ofwatcr delivered with each stroke.

I EARL S. HENRY, 

